Pulling into the driveway, our devotees’ house looked like a typical West Virginia home. They have a quaint, white, ranch style house with carefully tended gardens and the Norwegian flag proudly hanging on the side of the house. However, this family is slightly different than other West Virginians. This family grew up in New Vrindaban in the Hare Krishna movement. The members are Vidya Devi Dasi (the mother and wife), Madhava Gosh das (the father and husband), Manjari (the oldest daughter), and Tulasi (the youngest son). Their family story is an interesting one, their personal ideas for the future, diverse, but all remain linked with an experienced vision for future families at New Vrindaban.

Vidya Devi Dasi’s Vision

Vidya Devi Dasi was raised on a family farm, but at a young age she adamantly remembers her disdain for “eating anything with a face.” She became intrigued in the Hare Krishna movement while attending college in Madison, Wisconsin. She eventually moved to New Vrindaban in 1972 in search of an open-minded vegetarian community, only later to embrace the Hare Krishna philosophy. As a young woman in the community, she was coerced by more powerful devotees into an arranged marriage…